1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to photography. More particularly, the invention relates to a camera for enabling pseudo telephoto and pseudo panoramic prints to be obtained from normal exposures by coding an exposure to identify a selected type print.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A pseudo telephoto print is one that is made from a central portion of an exposure having the same width-to-length ratio, e.g., 31/2:5, as that of the exposure. During the printing process, the negative is masked at its upper, lower, left and right marginal zones, leaving the central portion of the negative unmasked. Alternatively, the film gate in the enlarger may be correspondingly masked or adjusted. Then, an enlargement is made of the unmasked portion of the negative to provide a print with the same width-to-length ratio as that of the unmasked portion. Thus, the print will have a telephoto or close-up format.
A pseudo panoramic print is one that is made from a narrow portion of an exposure having a greater width-to-length ratio, e.g., 1:3, than that of the exposure. During the printing process, the negative is masked at its upper and/or lower marginal zones, leaving the narrow portion of the negative unmasked. Alternatively, the film gate in the enlarger may be correspondingly masked or adjusted. Then an enlargement is made of the unmasked portion of the negative to provide a print with the same width-to-length ratio as that of the unmasked portion. Thus, the print will have a panoramic or elongate format.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,844, granted Jan. 20, 1970 discloses a method of making a print of a selected portion of a subject to be photographed. The method comprises the following steps: (1) viewing the subject in the viewfinder of a camera; (2) manually adjusting masking members visible in the viewfinder to frame a selected portion of the subject; (3) exposing the film in the camera to obtain a latent image of the subject; (4) encoding the exposure on the film with indicia which represents the selected portion of the subject; (5) processing the film to obtain a negative of the latent image of the subject; and (6) sensing the indicia to make a print of the selected portion of the subject from the negative.
When, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,844, the selected portion of the subject has the same relative position in the viewfinder as a corresponding portion of the exposure, enlargement of the portion in the negative will provide a pseudo telephoto effect, similar to the actual telephoto effect provided by a telephoto lens. Thus, a pseudo telephoto print can be made during the printing process from an exposure taken without a telephoto lens.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,102 discloses a method of making a pseudo panoramic print from an exposure. According to the method, a window in the viewfinder of a camera has its upper and/or lower marginal zones masked off by an appropriate insert to provide a viewing area with a width-to-length ratio greater than 1:2 and preferably 1:3. Exposures are taken with the window partially masked and, during the printing of the negatives, the film gate in the enlarger is correspondingly masked or provided with an aperture of the same width-to-length ratio as that of the unmasked portion of the window. Printing paper with a similar width-to-length ratio is used. Prints can thus be obtained which have a panoramic format, without using a panoramic lens.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,844 discloses a method of making a pseudo telephoto print from an exposure taken without a telephoto lens, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,102 discloses a method of making a pseudo panoramic print from an exposure taken without a panoramic lens, in each instance the exposure is made using an objective lens having a fixed focal length, probably around 45 mm. or 50 mm. A 45 mm. or 50 mm. lens is a normal lens, as distinguished from a telephoto or wide angle lens, and is chosen for the camera to enable normal prints as well as pseudo telephoto or pseudo panoramic prints to be obtained. However, without the ability of the objective lens to range from a normal focal length, e.g., 50 mm., to at least a moderate telephoto focal length, e.g., 80 mm., or from the normal focal length to at least a moderate wide angle focal length, e.g., 35 mm., the pseudo telephoto or pseudo panoramic prints obtained cannot have much of a telephoto or panoramic effect. This is because the selected portion of the negative cannot be enlarged significantly from an exposure taken with a 50 mm. lens before the sharpness of the image is lost.